Sensex closes 35 points up; banking stocks rally (Roundup)

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Monday closed trade 35.33 points or 0.13 percent up as banking stocks soared.

Good buying was observed in banking, auto and capital goods sectors, while selling pressure was seen in consumer durables sector.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,911.25 points, closed trade at 27,910.06 points, up 35.33 points or 0.13 percent from the previous day's close at 27,874.73 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 27,996.92 points and a low of 27,790.40 points intra-day.

The S&P bankex gained 145.18 points, auto index inched 124.47 points up and the capital goods index moved higher by 98.89 points. However, the consumer durables index dropped 118.07 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also closed trade 18.40 points or 0.22 percent up at 8,362.65 points, marking a record closing high.

The major Sensex gainers were: Mahindra & Mahindra, up 2.35 percent at Rs.1260.65; Tata Steel, up 1.84 percent at Rs.479.70; GAIL, up 1.63 percent at Rs.488.10; and Axis Bank, up 1.42 percent at Rs.466.80.

The major Sensex losers were: BHEL, down 2.41 percent at Rs.245.05; ITC, down 1.91 percent at Rs.363.75; Bharti Airtel, down 1.43 percent at Rs.384.70; and Infosys, down 1.09 percent at Rs.4,124.55.

Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei index was up 2.05 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.27 percent, while Shanghai's Composite Index slipped 0.12 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was up 0.05 percent, while France's CAC 40 was higher by 0.39 percent and Germany's DAX Index gained by 0.20 percent.